Compare the2025 Ford EscapeVS 2024 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Escape are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Escape has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Rav4’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Rav4.

Both the Escape and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Escape	Rav4
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	143	152
Neck Injury Risk	22.5%	29.3%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	306 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	56 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	188/315 lbs.	400/388 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	102	284
Neck Injury Risk	36.3%	37.4%
Neck Stress	181 lbs.	258 lbs.
Neck Compression	58 lbs.	95 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	220/169 lbs.	340/190 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Escape	Rav4
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	240 lbs.	246 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	97	146
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	49 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	14 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	36 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	835 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

There are over 2 times as many Ford dealers as there are Toyota dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

Reliability

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

Engine

The Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (199 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Escape’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 47 more horsepower (250 vs. 203) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Escape is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

	Escape turbo 3 cyl.	Escape turbo 4 cyl.	Rav4
Zero to 30 MPH	2.5 sec	1.9 sec	2.9 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	5.8 sec	8.3 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	8.3 sec	6.8 sec	8.8 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	5.4 sec	4 sec	6.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.9 sec	14.4 sec	16.5 sec
Top Speed	122 MPH	127 MPH	119 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Escape 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder AWD gets better fuel mileage than the Rav4 TRD Off-Road (26 city/32 hwy vs. 25 city/32 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regardless of its engine, the Escape’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium.

The Escape AWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (15.7 vs. 14.5 gallons).

The Escape has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Escape higher (7 out of 10) than the Toyota Rav4 (6). This means the Escape produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Rav4 every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Escape stops much shorter than the Rav4:

	Escape	Rav4
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	140 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

The Escape has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Escape AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Rav4 TRD Off-Road pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Escape ST-Line Elite AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Escape has 5.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 (104 vs. 98.9).

The Escape has .5 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more rear legroom and 5.6 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4.

Towing

The Escape’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rav4’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Ergonomics

The Escape’s optional Easy Entry and Exit glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Rav4 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Escape Elite/Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Rav4 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Safety Connect™ can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Escape has standard Intelligent Access that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road offers a Smart Key System.

The Escape’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Escape has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

The Escape Elite/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Rav4 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Escape owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Escape with a number “5” insurance rate while the Rav4 is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Rav4 because it costs $209 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Escape than the Rav4, including $17 less for a water pump, $10 less for front brake pads, $111 less for a starter, $101 less for fuel injection, $212 less for a fuel pump and $7 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its April 2024 issue and they ranked the Ford Escape ST-Line Elite AWD two places higher than the Toyota Rav4 TRD Off-Road.